This is a Trip Report from the Premium Economy cabin
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Given just how often I seem to be flying UC these days, it might seem a little odd that I was aiming for PE, but when it's your own money that you are spending (rather than that of your employer), then it all takes on a different perspective. Not to mention the fact that I have a wife who is about as amenable to spending money as my employer's procurement department. And unfortunately, because I do pride myself on being able to secure an extremely good deal on holidays over Easter, well... Let's just say there is a somewhat unrealistic perception in my household around what a week in the Caribbean at this time of year really costs. It's all my fault you see
Anyway, we had been holidaying almost exclusively at the various Almond properties in St Lucia and Barbados for the past 5 years, and for all their faults, they were good at looking after repeat customers. So it was rather unfortunate that it turned out they were haemorrhaging cash and ended up getting sold off or shut down (and I'm curious as to what will become of the main Village resort in Speightstown given just how big a stretch of West Barbados beach it came with - you have to think Sandals...).
Luckily, one of the agencies on my short list (Tropical Sky, they deserve a mention...) came up with an absolute stonking deal to Antigua, which just happened to include PE flights. And as I was 'celebrating' my 40th birthday that week, I figured it was now or never.
So after much deliberation, arguments, cajoling, cashing in of brownie points etc.... it was finally settled and booked. Woo Hoo
As it was booked more than 90 days out, I had plenty of time to think about what seats to try and get. And as the TRs for the refitted fleet started to trickle in, it seemed that the bubble was not quite what it used to be. Plus I'd heard that Antigua immigration was pretty dire, so decided that downstairs was a better option, if at all possible.
All I now had to do was diarise 90 days minus a few hours (because we all know that trick don't we...), and make sure that I was in there first to get them. Easy, right.
Wrong.
Oh deary deary me.
How could I have made such a basic mistake...
It turns out that 90 days beforehand we would be flying back from Innsbruck, hopefully all limbs intact, from our annual ski trip. Doh
Oh well, let's hope that the seat map opens nice and early. Either that or, oh I don't know, perhaps that flight would be delayed by fog and I'd be able to be online at exactly T-90. But what were the chances of something like that happening? I mean, really??
Fog. Funny stuff really. Almost every other flight out of Innsbruck that morning got diverted to Munich. Apart from ours, which was delayed just long enough to let me secure exactly the seats I wanted, 18-19AC. Nice.
Fast forward to the day before the flight, and cue the usual family ritual, broadly described as:
1) wife packs
2) wife collects children from school
3) wife drives to Gatwick in Friday afternoon traffic on M25
4) wife gets stuck for a couple of hours in aforementioned traffic
5) husband saunters down to Gatwick from office on train
6) husband orders large glass of red wine at Hilton and prepares for oncoming storm
Hard life isn't it? Although to be fair, the red wine wasn't that good. Far too much mediocre Malbec floating around these days if you ask me.
It was fairly plain sailing from there, no real queue at twilight check-in, I did ask the question about G availability, and was surprised to hear there were 2 going. A pity really, 3 I could make work, but 2 would have been a recipe for disaster, with 2 children both wanting mummy. So we stuck with what we had, and returned to the Hilton for another drink, before dinner at Giraffe. And so to bed.
As I mentioned earlier, when it's your own money being spent, your perspective changes. So while I have relatively little interest in spending hours in a clubhouse while on business trips, I fully intended to get the most out of the following morning, as did my cherubs, who had already perused the spa treatment menu and decided they were having their nails done. Clearly then we'd have to get there very early to make sure of an appointment.
Having agreed that aiming for 7am struck the right balance between caution and downright bloody obsessiveness, we did a pretty good job and were there at 7.04. I have to report a minor fail at this point - I had the 2 extra CH passes you get for hitting 60TPs, and was hoping that both of my cherubs could get in on one of them, given that they would ordinarily be charged half the adult rate. Sounds logical right? Yep, you can guess where this is going. One person, one pass. End of story. Oh well
That aside, it was another excellent experience. No problem with treatments, I even went for a shave, which was my first ever bit of CH pampering. Must admit I felt a bit raw afterwards, but apparently my own shave technique is not that good. So my fault again. I see a pattern emerging here...
I did think that the breakfast had shrunk again though - using my rule of thumb that it's not really a meal if you can see more than 50% of the plate that it is served on. Still, seconds were delivered with no problems.
A couple of hours on, and the boarding call came, oooooooh, finally time to check out PE. Yes, sad, I know. But I was after all only one day from turning 40, so it was either this or model railway conventions and real ale festivals.
Cue another of those RC family rituals, where I point out that it's actually the 'last and final call' that should be considered the point to think about moving. And I then have pointed out to me that we absolutely have to go NOW, otherwise we will miss the flight. Sigh. Yes, dear
So, on to the plane with no fuss at all, apart from 10 minutes in the gate holding pen, where I wistfully wonder how many more glasses of champagne I could have squeezed in. And there was a slight thrill of turning left, despite the fact it was hardly my first time. Our seats were right by the door, and they looked pretty smart. On first glance I was a little unimpressed with the legroom, but once seated, it was pretty decent. Certainly comfortable enough for the money. And the extra width was very welcome, as I'm not the slightest of individuals. The lumbar support was a bit gimmicky, but may be of use to some. All good so far. Sparkling wine was handed out, and it was perfectly drinkable. Even my dear wife seemed to be softening from the standard 'what is this costing me' position. And the cherubs were very happy with the 'big seats' as they put it...
We were away on time, and as soon as the seatbelt lights were off, more drinks were offered/accepted with a smile. Menus followed, and, well, I did take a picture of it, honest, but sadly it appears to have gone AWOL. Never mind, beef, chicken, pasta, it's not exactly ever going to be Michelin standard (although the chicken can sometimes take on the texture of one of their tyres...). I know that mine was beef and rice. Might have been a stroganoff of some sort. And while it was definitely ahead of some Y meals that I've eaten, it wasn't the greatest. Somewhat congealed through over exposure to the heat. But ok. My wife's chicken looked, and apparently tasted, better.
The brandy/baileys run followed, and I 'innocently' asked for an Aberfeldy, which they were more than happy to fetch from the UC bar, so thumbs up there
The rest of the flight was pretty uneventful. The cherubs kept trying to sneak a look around the curtains at UC - the very idea of a BAR on a PLANE!
But otherwise well behaved and the JAM system had enough to keep them busy. Had a brief play with it, and it seemed like a decent system, but there wasn't much I wanted to see, so I dozed for a while, taking advantage of the 'slightly better than Y' seat recline, and with the single malt helping my overall sense of calm.Overall, there was definitely more visible presence from the CC than I'm used to in economy, and no sense that the drinks were going to be rationed 'based on consumption' as I have seen in the past. I do also vaguely remember some sandwiches and ice cream at some point, the ice cream being the more welcome of the two.
Also a much more peaceful cabin overall, despite it being largely family units like ours.
The flight felt like it passed very quickly, which is always a blessing for me, and we landed on time, sucking on the last of the Love Hearts handed out (the white ones being my clear favourite). And this is where the seat choice really came into its own, as we were one of the first off the plane - both the doors immediately behind us and also behind UC were used, but we were allowed off at the same time. Not sure if that was a mistake, but it got us prime position in the immigration queue that quickly built up behind us. In some ways it was a bit of a wasted effort, given the comatose pace of Caribbean baggage handling, but it was good not to be stuck queuing nonetheless.
So, verdict on PE. Erm, please sir, can I have some more! Or rather, specifically at that price? For little more than we paid the previous year in Y, we got a significantly more comfortable and more attentive service. Food is probably the marginal weak point, especially if BA offers CW mains to its WTP pax, but it's not that big a deal to me, especially with the clubhouse beforehand.
Value for money is the key here. Sadly, although we are going back to Antigua in 2014, it will be WT on BA, because even the VS Y prices were crazy high, and PE was about 3 times the price of this trip. Apparently something to do with Easter being later than usual in 2014 and more families going to the Caribbean that would otherwise have gone skiing. Supply and demand I guess, but 3 times the price?? Even I couldn't argue that one, so back to economy for me, albeit with free exit seats as BA offer that for golds. VS should take note! At least I managed to get PE on one leg of our Dubai jaunt in May, and I'm now checking daily for Gs, as I have an 80TP upgrade voucher that's otherwise going to expire in a couple of weeks.
Return TR to follow. Don't hold your breath...
RC
